


Green Grows...

by DayenuRose



Series: Untangling the Threads [7]
Category: Batgirl (Comics), Batman (Comics), Nightwing (Comics)
Genre: Gen, Humidity, Investigations, Kidnapping, Patrol, Phone Call, Summer
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-27
Updated: 2019-02-01
Packaged: 2019-08-08 03:24:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,847
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16421468
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DayenuRose/pseuds/DayenuRose
Summary: On the hottest night of the summer, Bruce is out of town and Batgirl is taking lead on patrol. She's hoping for a quiet night, but Gotham doesn't know what that means.





	1. Preparing for Patrol

With the back of her hand, Babs wiped at the sweat beading along her forehead as she rolled her shoulders to shift the weight of her backpack from where it pressed across her shoulders and against the small of her back. The bag seemed to cling to her no matter what she tried. A heavy sigh later, she took the stairs to her apartment two at a time. Until the weather shifted, nothing was going to help with the clammy itching sensation that seeped into her skin. No matter what you tried, the moment you stepped outside, the humidity wrapped you in a wet wool blanket. A cool shower and an icy glass of lemonade sounded divine, but she didn’t have time for that. Not tonight. 

Besides, before long she’d be back outside and any relief from the heat would be short lived. She’d been out grading projects at the coffee shop and had lost track of time. Now, she was running late and it was almost time for patrol. Originally she’d only been scheduled for a half-patrol tonight, but with Bruce suddenly leaving town for a WE emergency, she was now lead. Hence, the grading the marathon. The summer session was coming to a close and she needed to have the grades in sooner than later. 

The opening lines of the chorus from ‘The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze’ chimed from her phone. Babs smiled and hummed along to the ringtone as she unlocked her apartment before sliding her mobile from her pocket. Not long ago, Dick had ‘borrowed’ her phone and assigned that ringtone for his calls. She left it because the song always reminded her of the time he’d taken her up on the trapeze. It had been quite a while now since she’d last been up with him. If she asked, he’d probably jump at the chance to take her up again. “Hey Dick, you’re calling early tonight.” 

Juggling between her phone and her keys, she pressed the phone between her ear and shoulder while she locked the door behind her and divested herself of her bag. 

“Hi Beautiful.” An overworked fan buzzed in Dick’s apartment. Blüdhaven wasn’t any cooler than Gotham. “I was missing you so I thought I’d call early.” 

“That’s sweet. Do I still get my mid-patrol call?” Stopping by the kitchen, she grabbed a water bottle and a pre-patrol snack before heading to her bedroom.

“Of course. I’d stay on the line with you all night if you wanted.” 

“Mm-hmm.” She switched the phone to speaker and tossed in on her bed as she set about the process of changing from her day clothes into her uniform. “I’d like that, but probably not tonight. I’ll be on an open-comm for the majority of patrol.”

He made a non-committal noise. The sound shifted as he also turned his phone to speaker. They both had things to do. 

“Are you patrolling tonight? Or, do you have the night off?” She laid out the pieces of her uniform and checked them again for any wear or damage that might compromise the integrity of the protective layers. 

He sighed heavily. “Yeah, I have patrol. Though I think I’ll need to make it an early night as long as nothing dire happens. I have to work in the morning and they’ve not been entirely happy with me lately.”

Babs stopped the examination of her suit and sat on the edge of her bed. “Oh? What’s up?” 

Though she couldn’t hear the whole body shrug, she could sense it through the extended pause. Instead of answering, he changed topics. “A little bird told me Bruce is out of town tonight.”

“And which little bird is that?” 

Dick laughed. “Actually it was Bruce who told me, so I suppose it was more of a big bat than a little bird. He asked me to pick Damian up when I headed out to Gotham for the weekend. Bruce thought that Damian might appreciate spending some time with me.”

“That’s surprisingly thoughtful for Bruce.” She ran a hand over her jacket and examined the carefully stitched tear for any signs of further damage. “Did he happen to say anything about talking to Jason?”

He blew out a harsh frustrated breath. “No.”

With the first inspection of her uniform complete, she moved on to checking the various bio-metric sensors incorporated into the suit’s construction. The basic data that was the same in all the suits was sent back to Bruce’s Batcomputer in a live feed. She had added extra sensors into her suit that covered a more extensive array of data. Both the basic and the more exhaustive information were sent back to her computer where she collated and analysed the data after every patrol.

“Well, maybe when Bruce gets back from Vienna we can talk some sense into him or something,” she said. 

“Right, I can see that happening.” There was no missing the deep running sarcasm. “Despite being the world’s greatest detective, he can be overwhelmingly obtuse when he wants to be—especially when it comes to family.” 

Babs agreed. It was partly why she and Dick and decided that, if Bruce wasn’t going to mend the broken bonds, then they would. This was their family too and they didn’t want to lose it. Someone had to take the first step, offer the first hand—it might as well be them. “At least he’s trying with Damian.”

Dick was moving around again. From the clatter, he was in the kitchen. “So, before this rabbit trail we were talking about you being lead on patrol tonight.”

“Yes....” They were talking about that, _after_ Dick had mentioned his job wasn’t going well. Which he apparently did not want to discuss—at least for the moment. 

“Mmm. I was thinking, wouldn’t it be nice if I came out to Gotham and joined you on patrol. Would you like that?” While his tone was light and edging towards reminiscence, she still bristled at the suggestion. 

Babs rolled over so she was lying on her stomach with her elbows propped on either side of the phone. She kept her tone light, though there was an edge to it that warned him to watch his words. “Richard Grayson, do you not trust me to run a patrol on my own.” 

Undaunted, he continued. “Of course I trust you. I didn’t mean it like that. It’s just, you know...Patrolling with you was always more fun.” 

When he spoke, desire and longing tinged his words. She grinned at the memories of patrol together...and later on when their calls over the private line became more than flirtatious. 

“You know,” he continued, “with Bruce gone, you’re the senior vigilante in town. Which means, you’re the boss. I could be there at your every beck and call. Think of the fun we could have.”

“Sounds delightful Boy Wonder, but you’re forgetting two things.” 

“Oh?”

“First we’re not in high school anymore—the family has expanded. Cass is on patrol with me tonight.” 

There was a rattling on the far side of the line as Dick poured a bowl of cereal. The splash of milk followed. “Ah, well that’s easily accounted for. Cass won’t mind. Besides, she totally ships us.” 

“Fine. She might not mind, but this is work.” 

“You know what they say, ‘all work and no play makes Dick a dull boy.’” He munched on the cereal for a moment. “What’s the second thing I forgot?”

“If you’re in town, I’m no longer the senior vigilante.” 

That caused him to pause for a moment before he bounced back with a response. “Oh, well, I’m okay with you being the boss.” 

“Or, you know. Partners.” She rolled off the bed and slipped on the first layer of body armour. 

“Right.” He exhaled. “Any big cases you’re working on?”

“You know Gotham. There’s always something going on. I still have some follow-up on the Maroni case, but that’s still mostly computer work at the moment. Jason’s keeping an eye out for me during his travels and Tim is working on the WE side of things. Other than that, it appears we’ve routed the Maronis from Gotham for the time being. Before heading out on patrol, I’ll check the active and passive cases, but I’m pretty sure I’ll just be working off the List tonight.”

She didn’t need to explain anymore than that. Being a vigilante in Gotham meant more than taking down criminals during the act, it was also about preventing the crimes from happening in the first place—or at least stopping them before they spun out of control. It some ways, the List was tedious work. No one enjoyed the long nights of checking empty warehouses and storefronts, but when their rogues appeared seemingly out of nowhere, their familiarity with the status of Gotham’s dark corners helped them pinpoint the villains’ hideouts more quickly. The list also included people who they wanted to keep their eyes on—those who had committed crimes in the past and were now on parole and those who were tempted to fall from the straight and narrow. Sometimes the checks were simply a reminder that someone was watching them, other times the checks alerted the vigilantes to where help was needed. 

“Sounds like you’re planning on a slow night.” He drummed his spoon against the bottom of his bowl, creating small splashes alongside the rapid clinking. Even living in a different city, Dick was feeling the general malaise that had moved in with the humidity.

“Sure, that’s the best case scenario and you know how often those go according to plan. Gotham’s got that feeling it always gets right before a major incident. You know that feeling, the lull—the breath—before everything goes pear shaped. So, yeah, I’m hoping for the quiet to continue, while preparing for a major incident.”

The drumming stopped. She could picture him worrying away at his bottom lip. She wanted to kiss it and promise him everything would be fine. But, she knew better than to make any such promises. 

“Are you certain...” He didn’t finish the sentence, already knowing her answer.

“Dick, I can handle patrol.” She massaged her temples. “As I said, Cass is patrolling with me tonight. Steph is on standby. And, if things get dicey, you and Tim are about the same distance away. I’ll call. I promise.”

“I know. And I do trust you. I just don’t like the thought of a major crisis beginning with so few of us in town. Every night I keep going over the list of rogues. No one’s seen Croc for a while. Ivy still hasn’t been found. Penguin’s been itching for an incident after Bruce shut down his last scheme. And, it’s really been too long since a breakout.” His voice trailed off as he considered all the possible dangers that awaited them each evening when they put on their uniforms, no matter what city they were in. 

Babs breathed deeply and slowly let out the breath. She knew what he was feeling, every night he was alone in Blüdhaven she felt the same way. At least in Gotham she had backup. 

“On the other hand,” she countered trying to ease his anxiety. “Activity from the mobs have been quiet since the _incident_ and Cass has accounted for all the guns they brought into town.” 

“But, what if....”

“Don’t forget, my dad is out there. He might not be Bat back-up, but you know he’ll be in the thick of things if something happens.” She grabbed her phone and jacket and headed towards her computer. She’d wait to put the jacket and cowl on until right before she left. It was truly too warm out for all the layers, but she wasn’t going to go on patrol without the protection. “And, you were the one talking about the old days earlier. Back when I started, it was just the three of us. Not so different from tonight.”

“Okay. Okay. I get it. I’m being overprotective. And I’d still rather patrol with you than alone. I’ll just keep my fretting to myself.” 

“You know, the feeling is mutual. I worry about you being all by yourself in your big bad city. You don’t even have the same backup I do.” She skimmed the programs running on her computer, checking to see if any required her immediate attention. “Promise me, you’ll take care of yourself. Be safe.” 

“I’ll do my best. You be careful too,” he said. They both knew that no matter how hard you tried, you could never completely guarantee your safety when you went out on patrol. You didn’t even need to be in costume for Gotham to act against you. In the end, despite all your preparation, all you could really do was your best and hope that tonight wouldn’t be your last night out. 

She pushed aside the unease that dwelling on such thoughts always brought. Still, she opened up the secure file on her computer that contained messages for Dick, her dad, and the rest of her family and friends. If the worse ever happened, the messages would be sent out. The letters contained her last wishes, instructions for how to access her databases, and her final goodbyes. In the case of her father, the letter also contained the confession of her identity. All the letters had been updated recently. She was pretty certain she wasn’t the only one of them who did this regularly. 

Her phone chimed, reminding her that she was scheduled to meet up with Cass in a half hour. The younger woman was probably already out on the streets. “Dick, I’ve got to head out in a few minutes. I love you. See you in a few days?”

“Yup. I’m counting down the hours. I love you.” She heard the smile in his words and caught the lighthearted inflection in his voice that he used to mask the ever present concern. She wondered if he heard the same in hers, because she knew it was there. This was the cost of caring for someone. 

“Good night,” she said, clinging to the words as long as she dared. 

She waited for his responding, “G’night,” before disconnecting the call. Neither of them wanted to end the conversation, but they both had work to do. 

 

Despite needing to meet Cass halfway across town in less than thirty minutes, Babs took a moment to remotely access the Batcomputer and briefly scan through the list of active and passive cases. She needed to know what everyone was working on, what she should be on alert for and if there was a case she needed to prioritise. There was never just one case that needed attending to. Sometimes the cases were spread out with each member of the family focusing on a single case. Other times, they each juggled multiple cases, following the leads as they were discovered. Many times the cases ended up overlapping and they needed to work together. And that didn’t even count the myriad of passive ones that they kept an eye on in hopes of preventing minor incidents from becoming major ones. 

While at present the number of active cases was relatively low, it didn’t mean that most of the Bats and Birds weren’t mid-investigation on their own cases. Jason was still searching for leads on the human trafficking case. Every time he thought he found aa answer, it lead him to a half dozen new inquiries that needed following and left him no closer to the source of the trafficking. Though Huntress was not exactly under her purview anymore, Babs checked on Helena. The other woman’s investigations were taking her down similar roads as Jason’s. Only, Jason was in Sao Paula, while Helena was in Taipei. She wondered if the two were sharing information. She ought to see if they wanted her to coordinate their efforts for them. 

Steph was maintaining a general surveillance of the Gotham underground while Cass was between cases. To the untrained eye, Tim’s caseload was a tangled hodgepodge of starts and stops. Half the data was apparently missing, though Babs noticed the telltale signs that he was hiding information. She could sort it out, figure out what he was after, but that would take more time than she had at the moment. Even if she had the time, she wouldn’t pry—not right now. She’d keep an eye on him and if things started to look dicey, she would see what he needed. Tim had good instincts. He needed the room to follow them. When he was ready to share, that’s when they needed to step up and support him. As for Dick, he’d mentioned to her the other day that there were rumblings of a new player in Blüdhaven. He was still trying to pinpoint who they were and what was their goal.

Which left Bruce. He hadn’t told her what business was drawing him to Metropolis, but she know that it actually concerned the company and he wasn’t using it as an excuse to leave town early. He took Damian with him. The original plan had Damian remaining in Gotham under Alfred’s care while Bruce was out of the country. In the new and improved last minute revised plans, Damian would spend the next few days with the Kents. The boy would be a lot less likely to runaway if he was already at the location he tended to run towards.

Besides, Bruce apparently had more plans for Vienna than just the symposium. He had left enough unscheduled time on his itinerary that he was clearly planning on either Batman-ing his way across Europe, or a secret liaison. When Selina’s name (or rather, several of her aliases) popped up in connection to Bruce’s plans....well, Babs could put things together. 

As much as Bruce tended to aggravate Babs with the way he treated Dick and the others, she was glad he was making time for Selina. She also hoped that the older woman could help Bruce relax. Maybe Selina could determine the root of whatever was bothering Bruce. If possible, he’d been even more taciturn and surly since she and Dick had been kidnapped. 

Her phone chirruped again, reminding her that she needed to leave now if she wanted to meet Cass on time. The computer would keep working while she was out on the street. If anything important came through, it would alert her to the problems no matter where she was. It was time to leave Barbra behind and be Batgirl.

She pulled her hair back and slipped on the cowl. Running her fingers over the hidden controls, she accessed the various feeds that ran through her comms and engaged the security feature that prevented others from removing her mask. Her utility belt was snug on her hips and filled with the tools needed to cover a myriad of contingencies. For one last brief moment, she breathed in the cool air of her apartment before slipping on the last piece of her uniform—the jacket with the bat emblem splashed across the chest. 

Exiting through the window, she embraced the muggy night air and took to the rooftops. Batgirl was on patrol. 

 

 


	2. Batgirls on Patrol

Impervious to the sweat that trickled down her spine and beaded along her forehead, Black Bat stood still along the edge of the rooftop. The shadows deepened around her and the black clad figure became lost in the darkness. Anyone looking up from below wouldn’t notice anything untoward perching on the roof. In her stillness, even if they sensed someone watching, their eyes would sweep over her without ever pausing for a second glance.

Without needing to check the time, she knew she was early for patrol. That was fine with her. It allowed her a moment to take in the night and the city below. To become attuned to what had changed since the last time she’d ventured out. She listened for the rhythm of the city. The ebb and flow of city life. 

The streets were quieter than usual. 

Something was off. A jarring presence in the night air. One that didn’t belong. She didn’t like it. Trouble was brewing and would soon boil over. There hadn’t been a major incident for a while. The longer the gap stretched between incidents, the messier the chaos to follow. Even though the kidnapping of Dick and Babs had felt like a major incident to their family, in the grand scheme of things—to Gotham—it was only another minor incident. A mess that was cleaned up before it had scarcely begun. 

The coming trouble settled around her bones and nagged at the back of her throat. There was a vague familiarity to the sensation. One she recognised as something she had missed growing up the way she did. But, had come into contact with it after Bruce took her in. 

Alfred. It was a scent she associated with Alfred and sunny afternoons. One that reminded her of the shed discreetly hidden in the backyard. She’d never been in the shed, but during the spring and summer she had often seen Alfred coming out of it with tools, or hefting heavy bags in wheelbarrows. Though she had never stayed around long enough to figure out what he was doing. Maybe she should have. 

Biting the inside of her cheek, Black Bat pondered the best way to remedy this lack. She would ask Babs. The older vigilante would know how to place the scent. And, maybe she would know why it permeated the night air.

As if summoned by Black Bat’s thoughts, Batgirl appeared. If Black Bat had been anybody else, the other woman’s near silent arrival would have been a surprise, but Black Bat had been waiting for her, expecting her arrival. The younger vigilante would always recognise her friend and mentor. Even if the connection between the two women hadn’t been so strong, Batgirl’s long hair gleamed like a coppery beacon in the artificial glow of the streetlights. Black Bat could never understand how the others could keep their hair so long and loose, especially when they were in uniform. Didn’t it get in the way when they fought? 

A hand rested on her shoulder as Batgirl had discerned her friend’s presence among the shadows. 

‘How are you?’ Batgirl signed. 

‘Fine.’ Black Bat responded with an open hand, her thumb tapping briefly against her sternum. 

Batgirl examined the younger vigilante. Something in the way Black Bat stood—the way she held her arm at a slight angle—caused a concerned expression to flicker across the elder vigilante’s face. ’How’s your shoulder?’ 

The dark haired woman rolled her shoulder without a wince as if to prove that everything was fine. Batgirl nodded. They both knew that Black Bat had a better knowledge of her body and its limits than the rest of the family combined recognised their limits. 

‘Ready for patrol?’ Batgirl asked. She pulled up the holographic map of the city on her gauntlet computer. 

Black Bat stared at the image. She squinted at the backwards map trying to mentally flip the image. 

With the hand not busy holding the computerised map still, Batgirl signed, ‘Sorry.’ Though the glowing image obscured the sign, Black Back understood the sentiments.

Batgirl manipulated the glowing image with a flick of her fingers so that the map inverted, making it possible for the other woman to examine the map the right way around. ‘Where do you want to start patrol?’

Tracing various patterns around the city, Black Bat finally stopped at the docks. She doubled tap the image, causing an enlarged inset of the docks to replace the city map. ‘Here.’

‘Good.’ Batgirl closed the map. ‘I’m working from the List. Make sure you check in.’

‘Yes, boss.’ Black Bat gave a cheeky salute before heading out into the night. 

 

***

 

Left alone on the rooftops, Batgirl surveyed her city. Like she had told Dick, the streets were quiet. No one wanted to be out in the heat if they had the ability to be inside with something approaching a fan or an air conditioner. The quiet spells due to the weather never lasted. Before long the novelty of remaining indoors would grow thin and nerves would fray. Eventually the populace would grow restless and that energy would spill out onto the streets. Someone would come up with a grand scheme and whatever remnants of order that remained in the city would tumble like a trail of dominoes. Then, chaos would ensue and Gotham’s vigilantes would have their work cut out for them. Before that happened and her life became subsumed in an endless series of case after case, she had work to do. 

The first item on her agenda for the evening was to check on Michael Monroe. It had been almost two months since any of the Bats had dropped in on him and he was overdue for a visit. She approached his apartment from the south and perched on the roof of the building across the street. From this vantage point, Batgirl could study the Monroe residence before making her entrance. 

While still nicer than what the majority of Gotham’s populace could afford, it was several steps down from where he’d been living a year and a half ago when he’d first come to Batman’s attention. Living beyond his means, Monroe was unable to keep up his lifestyle without a little outside help. He was approached by one of Penguin’s underlings in hopes of making a deal—information for cash. Batman had found Monroe after his first transaction with Penguin. The guilt at what he was doing ate away at the businessman and when Batman offered him a chance to reform, he took it. He’d simplified his life—moving to a more affordable apartment was among the changes—and he gave Batman everything he knew about Penguin and the villain’s plans. As per the unspoken part of their arrangement, Batman kept an eye on Monroe, making certain the civilian kept his end of the bargain. And, that Monroe remained safe in case it ever entered Penguin’s head to take revenge on the man who’d ratted him out to the Bat.  

For the last eighteen months, they’d been checking up on Monroe once a month. They never came on the same day or at the same time. The random visits meant he could never predict when they would come and he couldn’t be prepared with either a falsely clean image or a trap. So far he’d been true to his word. He’d been honest and forthcoming with everything Batman had asked from him. He’d even provided crucial information for Batman in taking down Penguin’s last scheme. The note in the Monroe file stated that if this visit came through clean, then the visits would (unbeknownst to Monroe) change to every two to three months. 

From her perch, she used a pair of binoculars to check for any unwanted surprises before heading across the street. The light in his living room was on and casting a warm yellow glow into the night. Unsurprisingly the balcony doors were closed and the curtains were half drawn. Even with the obstructed view, she could spy Monroe’s silhouette moving around the room in the frantic erratic semblance of a pace.

Something was wrong. There was no indication that he knew she was there, watching. But she couldn’t ignore the fact that the small hairs on her arms stood on end and unease churned in the pit of her stomach. Her dad would tell her to trust her gut. If it told her something was off, then something was probably indeed off. And, it had nothing to do with the weather.

Warily, she exchanged the binoculars for her grapple gun. The only way to discover what was wrong was to go over there and find out for herself. She prepared to send the grapple across the street when her comm clicked. It wasn’t the ‘Black Bat reporting in’ kind of clicking, rather as in someone new joining the conversation.

“Batgirl, this is Spoiler.” 

“What can I do for you Spoiler? I thought you were staying in tonight.” 

“I needed a break—from studying, that is.” Spoiler’s words held the frustrated weary edge of someone with writer’s block who’d been staring at the screen for too long without progress.

In the background of the comms, Batgirl heard the familiar sounds of campus life from the streets outside Spoiler’s apartment. The noise was subdued, partly due to the heat and partly because it was summer session and the number of students in residence was reduced. 

“How’s your paper coming along?” The professor in Batgirl couldn’t help but ask.

Spoiler laughed. “Teach, I think you’re crossing identities. If you want to meet for waffles in the morning, I’ll tell you all about it. For now, I thought I’d take a few laps around the city before heading back to the grindstone. I figured you could use some help on patrol.” 

“Sounds good, we can always use the help.” Batgirl understood. Sometimes you just needed a break before you could get back to work. And when your night job was patrolling the city, she couldn’t think of a better way to do that. “I’ll take you up on the waffles. Pancake Haus?” 

“Eww. You’re joking right? Their waffles are mediocre at best. Just come over to my place for breakfast. I’ll cook.” 

“Okay.” Batgirl glanced across the street. The curtains stirred. Her gut twinged in response.

“Thanks for checking in, though I need to go. I’m in the middle of something that I need to get back to.”

“Right. I’ll let you know if I come across anything suspicious. Until then, I’m over and out and all that jazz.”

“Stay in touch. I’m out too.” 

When both comms fell to silence, Batgirl turned her attention back to Monroe’s apartment. In the moment it had taken to say their goodbyes, Monroe had taped a paper to the window. She didn’t need to squint at the image clearly drawn in black and yellow to recognise it. He had ‘lit’ the Batsignal. 

 

A gust of artificial cool greeted Batgirl as she easily slid open the unlocked balcony door. Before she pushed through the curtains, Monroe turned to face the disturbance. Relief immediately surged through his body and his legs buckled bringing a cease to his anxious pacing as he fell to his knees. 

“Thank God you’re here,” he practically sobbed. “I didn’t think anyone would answer so soon. I could only hope you were planning to check on me...” 

Batgirl frowned. Her instincts were right, something was clearly wrong here. Even those individuals who had chosen to work with them in a hope for redemption and restoration were rarely glad to see any of the Bats. 

Before she could delve into the reasons for his relief, Monroe began to ramble. “My Lilli. She’s gone. You have to help…. I can’t lose her.”

His words quickly became lost as they tumbled over each other. He fumbled for the open photo album lying on the nearby coffee table. Handing the album to Batgirl he pointed to a blonde haired girl in blue graduation robes. She couldn’t have been more than seventeen or eighteen. 

That explained his relief at the sight of her. 

For a moment, she knelt beside him. She held his hands and intoned softly, instructing him to breathe. She waited until his breathing returned to a semblance of normalcy before beginning to question him. To tease out the facts of the case from the clearly distraught father. 

So much for a quiet night. 

“All right, Michael, I need you to tell me what happened. When did Lilli go missing? Have you contacted the authorities?”

He nodded. “They were here, earlier this evening. It was Lilli’s week with her mom. But…they had a fight on Sunday. She stormed out of her mom’s house, said she was going to stay with me. Her mom never told me…I didn’t even know….not until tonight. We were supposed to meet for dinner. Lilli and me. When she didn’t show, I called her cell phone. No one answered. That’s when I knew something was wrong, she always has her phone on her. Then I tried her mom. She said it was my fault…but how was I to know? I’d been in Star City all week, on a business trip.” 

“How old is she?” Batgirl asked before she lost Monroe again to his panic. 

“Seventeen. She’ll be eighteen next week. She’s starting at Gotham University in the fall…” 

All right. Lilli was still a minor—not by much, but technically, she still counted. “Do you mind if I check your daughter’s room?”

He managed a slight nod and a gesture towards the back of the apartment before pulling the album onto his lap and flipping through the pages. 

It wasn’t hard to find Lilli’s room. Of the two bedrooms in the apartment, there was no mistaking the room of a teenage girl. Everything appeared to be slightly off in the room. As if someone had searched through the contents, then had carefully tried to place everything back where it belonged but hadn’t quite managed. The police had clearly already been here and had searched the room for evidence of where the missing girl might be. Now, she was trying to find something they hadn’t. 

Everything about the room reflected the teenage occupant. Several outfits had been thrown haphazardly across the half-made bed. The laundry basket was over flowing with clothes that hadn’t made it to the laundry. Jewellery was scattered over the top of the dresser and marked the changing trends of the past six years.  

Posters featuring a progression of boy bands lined the walls. Amid the band posters, Lilli had pinned fan art sketches of Nightwing, Red Robin, Red Hood, and Robin. Despite the seriousness of the situation, a fleeting grin tugged at her lips when Batgirl spied a particular cluster of sketches featuring Dick in all the various iterations of his costumes. A closer look at the sketches and the artist signature told her that Lilli had done most of the drawings herself. A sketchbook rested on the desk beside a computer that wasn’t powered on. She’d ask Monroe later if he knew the password to Lilli’s computer. 

Instead, she turned her attention to the sketchbook. If Lilli was anything like Damian, the sketches would be her best opportunity for getting to know the missing girl. Flipping through the book, she found more pictures of the Boys along with some original character sketches. Most of the pages were dated. Nothing had been added since before the weekend. With the amount of drawings scattered around the room, she doubted Lilli would have gone this long without adding another sketch. 

She wondered what Damian would make of the collection. As far as she could determine, the artwork was good. Lilli had managed to capture flattering impressions of the family. There were even a few of her, Black Bat and Spoiler. Though Lilli had definitely focused most of her attention on the Bat-boys. Batgirl had seen fan art like this over the years. More than once, she’d been tempted to pick up pieces she’d seen at art crawls or on-line stores. The iconic nature of Batman and the rest of the superheroing community meant they were popular with the general populace. You could scarcely go to the store without finding a piece of hero merchandise. The entire Bat-family had just as many Batman t-shirts (or Robin, or Batgirl, or any of their other alter egos) as the rest of Gotham. It would be more suspicious if they didn’t have any. 

Back to the drawings, Batgirl assessed that Lilli wasn’t particularly interested in the identity of any of the Boys. There weren’t any attempts to draw them out of their masks and she had rarely drawn the elder three boys in their Robin uniforms. When she did, she tended to mix and match costume elements, creating an amalgam of Robins. Lilli and her friends probably crushed over the Bat-boys in their present identities without realising they had once been Robin as well. 

Her phone buzzed. The text ran across the surface of her gauntlet computer. Spoiler had found something suspicious after all—or, more accurately, it had found her. 

 

***

 

Spoiler gauged the distance before making the leap between buildings. She’d asked for the evening off, but she was out here on the rooftops anyways. This was probably a sign that she was nowhere near retiring. Not that she was seriously considering the idea, but ever since her talk with Babs about her future, she’d been thinking about it a lot. Non-stop, if she was honest. 

Anyways, between the humidity and the thinking, she wasn’t getting anywhere on her homework—hence the patrol. The air conditioner in her apartment was working in fits and starts and the lack of breeze made the open windows next to useless. Her roommate had absconded from the apartment hours ago with no mention of when she’d been back. Steph wasn’t worried since Carrie had a myriad of friends in the city and probably went to crash with someone who had a working air conditioner. Which was probably what Steph should be doing instead of patrol….but since she was already out, she might as well continue. 

Steph’s civilian phone buzzed in a rapid series of texts. Babs had set it up so that whenever Steph was Spoiler, the calls and texts to her private phone were redirected to her vigilante phone. With different tones to alert her to which calls were which, she could answer her civilian line without anyone knowing she wasn’t at home or wherever normal people spent their evenings. While it was dark out, it was still early enough that her college friends might try contacting her. 

When the buzzing didn’t stop, she paused on a rooftop overlooking Eighth Street. A group text from her psych study group filled the screen. She had to scroll up quite a ways to find the beginning of the conversation. 

 

Lucy: Has anyone seen Eva?

Lucy: Recently. Like since class.

 

Spoiler frowned. The last time she’d seen Eva or any of the others in the group was two days ago when they all had class together. Lucy and Eva were roommates right out of the ‘Odd Couple.’ Lucy was organised and finicky while Eva was a mess in just about every aspect of her life but her studies. 

 

Angel: She was suppose to meet me for dinner last night but she totally flaked. 

Matt: Haven’t seen her since class.

Matt: What’s up?

Lucy: She hasn’t been back to the dorm for days. 

Angel: Have you tried Anthony…

Matt: Ang. Not this—again. 

Lucy: Guys, I’m serious. No one’s seen her. 

Angel: Did you ask everyone? It’s not like she doesn’t do this every once in a while.

Lucy: That’s what I’m doing now. I wasn’t worried at first cause I thought she just crashed at Tony’s, but…

Lucy: He just called. He hasn’t seen her either. Not since Monday. 

 

The five of them—Ang, Matt, Eva, Lu, and Steph—had been classmates and friends since freshman year. Since they were all studying for the same degree, they’d been in and out of the same classes. She’d gotten to know them pretty well—though she suppose they could all have second lives she knew nothing about, since she was certain they’d all say they knew her pretty well too. 

So, when she said, this didn’t fit Eva’s pattern, Steph meant it. Sure, Eva had the tendency to disappear from time to time. Often she’d spend the night at a friend’s or with her boyfriend without telling anyone. She’d show up at class or study group without a word about what she’d been up to. She acted like she hadn’t fallen off the radar for the last twenty-four hours. If Lucy was right about the timeframe—and she usually was—Eva had gone silent for over forty-eight hours. 

 

Matt: What about her other friends?

Lucy: Aren’t you listening. Of course, I’ve been texting everyone for like the last half hour. No one’s seen her. 

Angel: Yo Steph. You alive or are you missing too? Maybe you and Eva are off together in the void or whatever.

 

Spoiler checked the time. It’d been fifteen minutes since Angel had called her out. There’d been about a minute of silence before they started bickering again and making suggestions for people Lucy should try contacting. She better respond before they started to get antsy about her silence and sent someone to check on her, only to find her not at home either. 

 

Steph: Sorry. My phone was dead. :( Just caught up on the convo. I haven’t seen Eva either. 

Steph: Have you reported her missing? Sounds like it’s been over 48 since anyone’s seen her.

Lucy: Should I? I mean like Ang said, she does this sometimes. I’d hate to bother the police over nothing.

 

Rolling her eyes, Spoiler had to remind herself that not everyone in her life was a vigilante. Still, this was Gotham. Shifts in patterns and abnormal absences were rarely harmless. It was obvious Lu wasn’t a born and bred Gothamite. Apparently the others agreed. 

 

Matt: Yes!

Angel: Def! OMG I can’t believe you haven’t done that yet. 

Steph: It’s a good idea. Commissioner Gordon is a good guy, he’ll know what to do. 

Lucy: Ok. Ok. Got the picture. Let me know if you hear anything….

Matt: I’ll check out the lib. See if she got lost in a rabbit hole over there…

Angel: You want me to come over and hang out ’till we know something?

Lucy: That’d be great. Thanks. 

Steph: I’ll swing by campus and look around. Be safe. 

 

Before Spoiler tucked her phone back into a pouch, she texted the info about Eva’s disappearance to Batgirl, letting her fearless leader know her plans. 

 

Spoiler: A girl from my psych class is missing. Eva Flores. Last seen on campus two days ago. I’m going to look around for any signs of what happened. 

Batgirl: Second reported disappearance this evening. We may have the beginning of a situation here. Keep me updated. 

Spoiler: Will do, boss. Keep me in the loop. Will check in soon. 

 

Spoiler turned a hundred and eighty degrees and made her way back the way she’d come. There was work to do. 

 

***

 

Batgirl waved her hand over the gauntlet computer, clearing the surface of her text conversation with Spoiler. She continued her circuit around the room as she raised the volume on the police band feed that droned in the background of the various feeds that ran continuously through her cowl. Two kidnappings reported on the same night didn’t necessarily mean that the cases were related. But her gut told her otherwise. Once the Commissioner learned of the second kidnapping, she wouldn’t be surprised if he lit the signal. Which meant, she didn’t have much time left to complete her examination of the room.  

Stopping at the window, she wanted to know if it had been recently opened. When she’d entered the room, she hadn’t realised just how stuffy the enclosed space had become, but the humidity and the scent of the night steadily increased as she had moved further into the room. 

Beyond the increasing stuffiness of the room, due diligence would have her check the window as a possible means of ingress or egress. The window was locked from the inside and while it wasn’t impossible to unlock it from the outside, it would have been a challenge to relock it again. Especially since the apartment was a dozen stories up and neither of the bedrooms had balconies outside. The locking or unlocking process would have damaged the frame and the window was clear of any scars. Besides, Batgirl was certain Lilli hadn’t snuck in or out that way. The girl didn’t exactly seem like someone who had discovered the fine art of lock picking. Then again, the rest of the general population—if pressed—would probably have said the same thing about Tim. And Tim was the closest parallel to Lilli in the family. 

Still, she tried the lock. It groaned as she twisted it and paint peeled away with the movement. That confirmed that no one had opened the window since the frame had been painted and only further proved that no one had entered the room through the window to kidnap Lilli.

Batgirl once again inhaled the lingering heavy air; it wasn’t coming from the window but further in the room. She followed the scent to the narrow space between the bed and the wall. The longer she stayed in the room, the more she realised the scent was similar but not the same as the one that infused the night air. The smell was strong, slightly sweet and not exactly cloying, but unpleasant. At least to Batgirl. It felt like it was adhering to her face and the back of her throat. The pressure in her sinus cavities was building up at an exponential rate. 

Lilies. Day, Easter, tiger, it didn’t matter which type, the pollen attacked her sinuses with a vengeance. Batgirl scanned the horizontal surfaces of the room. There were no vases, no planters or signs of lilies. 

A ping sounded in her cowl alerting Batgirl that someone had turned on the Batsignal at police headquarters. On a normal night, she would make certain Bruce or Dick was aware that the signal had been lit, then eavesdrop on the conversation. But, tonight, it was her responsibility to answer the call. She glanced back towards Lilli’s bedroom window. From here, she could catch a partial glimpse of the Batsignal glowing golden against the overcast sky. 

With one last look around the room, Batgirl hesitated. A brilliant flash of colour on the floor caught her attention. She knelt and carefully swept the remains of a crushed flower from under the nightstand. 

The bloom was lily-shaped, but the colour was one she’d never seen before on a lily. The petals were blood red and freckled with deeper red splotches that appeared almost black in comparison. The stamens were crushed and the purple pollen smeared across the bruised petals. 

Batgirl shivered as the crushed flower stained her gloves red. 

 


	3. Seeds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Black Bat and Spoiler Investigate.   
> Batgirl meets with the Commissioner.

Black Bat made her way across town to the waterfront. If trouble was coming to Gotham from the outside, it usually came through the docks. There was plenty of legitimate business to keep the docks busy, but there always seemed to be just as much—if not more—illegitimate dealings brewing under the surface. No matter how often they patrolled, no matter how much money the city poured into revitalisation, the waterfront continued to be a breeding ground for trouble. That’s why she chose to patrol here. If she could head off trouble before it spread beyond the gates, there would be one less problem for the others to worry about.

But, so far tonight, the city—including the waterfront—had been quiet. Not unnaturally quiet. People still worked and ran errands and busied themselves with life. Rather, it simply appeared as though no one wanted to stay outside. The normal bustle of unloading ships and stocking warehouses moved at a sluggish pace. It was as though the night air that hung heavy on the containers and crates added to their weight until they were almost immobile and the effort to move took all the energy that might have been spared for talking or plotting. 

The water lapped at the shore, the sound changing where it crashed against the jetties. Cranes creaked and groaned as they moved their heavy loads. This close to the water, the air should have smelled of seaweed and fish. Tonight it did not. No wind blew in off the water to drive away the unease that permeated the night.

Spoiler called in, informing Batgirl she intended to join them on patrol. Good. Finally, something felt right about the evening. 

Staying in the shadows Black Bat silently moved past the legitimate businesses into murkier waters. She grinned, proud with herself for coming up with the unintentional play on words. Nightwing and Spoiler did that kind of thing all the time. She usually struggled to keep up with their rapid wordplay, so she thought herself justified in her pride at recognising her own pun—intentional or not.

She would start with Anderson Shipping. Technically, it was Anders & Son Shipping, but no one in living memory could recall there ever being an Anders (or Anderson) in charge of this shipyard. The peeling paint on the warehouse was practically illegible, leading to the mistaken identity. No matter what it was called, apparently the appropriate taxes and bribes were paid to keep the authorities at bay. Batman or Batgirl probably knew the whole story and which illicit organisations ran their operations through Anderson. None of that really mattered to Black Bat at the moment. 

Stepping out of the shadows, she approached the warehouse from the back. Though no one occupied the premises tonight, there were signs of recent—and frequent—use. At the corner of the building, where a lookout might stand, a pile of cigarette butts had been ground into the dirt with a heavy foot. Fast food wrappers gathered in corners and along walkways. 

Careful not to leave her own footprints among the dirt and gravel, she followed the deep ragged rut worn into a path between the warehouse and the dock. The ground was too hard and too well traveled to show distinct footprints. Occasionally, she’d find a blurred footprint among the trail of steps more shuffled and dragged than taken. 

In the unkempt grass and weeds the lined the trail, Black Bat paused to study the bent and broken dry grasses. Someone had tried to escape. The footprints were small. One foot was bare while the other had been clad in an ill-fitting shoe with the sole partially detached. A half dozen steps into the grass, the person had stumbled and fallen. Handprints showed where she had caught herself. The trail intersected with a set of prints left by a pair of large heavy work boots. Since the smaller prints didn’t continue, Black Bat figured that the escapee had been caught. 

Black Bat recorded everything. Despite the signs of recent use, there was no one present tonight. She didn’t know if it was because the heat that had driven even the criminals to stay inside or if it was because there simply wasn’t a delivery that evening. Either way, she’d be back. In the meantime maybe Batgirl or Red Robin could devise some sort of surveillance system to keep a perpetual eye on the shipping yard until the heavy boots returned to the scene. 

The water lapped against the dock in a rhythmic fashion. Turning, she peered out over the water to scan the horizon for any signs of boats riding low in the water and headed for shore. Nothing. Except for the golden gleam of the Batsignal reflected on the water. 

With Batgirl on a kidnapping case and Spoiler following a missing person, Black Bat wouldn’t be surprised if the signal had something to do with that. They would need her help, so headed back towards the city. 

 

****

 

Spoiler started her search with the building where most of her psych classes met. Not that she expected to find Eva hiding in the back of a classroom, but she needed to start somewhere and this was the last place anyone had seen Eva—at least as far as anyone could recall. 

Matt was checking the library and would let them know if Eva had just been spending all her waking hours there. The perpetual cool of the library would be a welcome relief from the oppressive humidity outside. Summer session was almost up and Steph was feeling the pinch. With her final paper due at the end of next week, she had planned to sit out on patrol and finish her draft. After staring at the page for a half hour, she thought she’d stretch her legs with a lap around the city. See where that got her. In Gotham, things were never that simple. She wondered if it would be easier in Metropolis of Central City…. Would the superheroes there allow her to continue heroing, or were they as jealous of their territory as Batman was? 

Almost as if at the thought of Batman was enough to summon Gotham’s heroes, the Batsignal illuminated the night sky. Spoiler hesitated. Should she answer it? 

“I’ve got the signal,” Batgirl said over the comms.

Black Bat clicked her acknowledgement. 

“Gotcha chief. Checking out the psych building now. Let me know if you want me to divert my investigation elsewhere.”

“Keep on that for now, I’ll let you know what the Commissioner has to say after I meet with him. Batgirl out.” The comm clicked softly as Batgirl placed hers on mute. 

 

Spoiler silently made her way through the lecture hall where her ab psych class met. Despite the small class size that met during the summer term, for some reason administration had decided that the class should meet in one of the larger lecture halls on campus. Despite the myriad of seating possibilities, everyone tended to sit in the same seats in the first few rows of the auditorium. 

Though her class was small, they weren’t the only ones to use the space. Several of the other classes meeting on campus were quite a bit larger than hers. If an obvious clue had been left behind, someone probably would have discovered it by now. That left her looking for the subtle clues left in unexpected places. 

She flicked on her flashlight and shone the beam in the corners of the lecture hall and up to the ceiling. The corners were clear and nothing strange clung to the ceiling. In Gotham you could never be certain that the weirdest case scenario wasn't the one actually happening. A sweep of the front showed nothing out of the ordinary. Spoiler made a quick study of the front of the room before working her way up and down the bazillion rows of chairs. 

Even though no one bigger than a toddler could possibly be hiding under or between the seats, she flicked the beam of her flashlight over every nook and cranny. She focused a little longer on the seat Eva usually occupied, checking for any signs of...well, anything. She searched for fingernail marks gouged into the padded armrests, notes scratched into a seat back, or a paper wedged between seats. And, there was nothing. 

The first warning she had that she wasn't alone in the building was the flicker of light under the door opposite of the one she entered through. The rattle of keys in the lock gave her just enough time hide. 

Spoiler doused her light and hopped over several rows of seats without snagging her cloak. As the door swung open, She pressed herself into the deepest shadows she could find and controlled her breathing. 

"Hullo? Anyone here?" Campus security called from the doorway. His flashlight danced across the walls at approximately head height. That is, if the intruder had been standing and not ensconced behind a row of chairs. 

With no luck at spotting anyone with his initial sweep, the security guard crossed the lecture hall to check the other door. His light bobbed to the pattern of his steps. He whistled a grating off key tune. Spoiler bit her tongue and hoped he wouldn't be keen to do a thorough search. As it was she was glad she'd relocked the door she'd picked open. 

"Hullo?" He called again. Once more the light flickered across first few rows of seats, nowhere near where she was hiding. He made no effort to climb the steps and peer down each row. 

Quicker than a complete search required and longer than she wanted to lie on the floor, the security guard finally left the hall with a shrug. She waited for him to relock the door, then counted to ten, before she snuck out of her hiding spot and continued the long fruitless search. This time she was more careful at keeping her light low and unseen from the narrow high windows situated near the edge of the ceiling. If this was the extent to which campus security checked on a disturbance, she ought to make certain her examination of the room was more thorough. 

 

Spoiler breathed in the heavy stagnant air and for a moment almost wished she was back inside. No, with a shake of her head she immediately reversed that thought. After examining all those identical seats, she was not looking forward to attending class tomorrow. Maybe she’d sit in the front row. That way she’d see less of the chairs. 

But that was a worry for tomorrow. She groaned as she remembered her half done paper. _If_ she even made it to class. 

Instead, she grappled her way to the roof of the building she’d just exited. This way she could get at least a low-flying bird’s-eye view of the campus. Campus life was at a minimum. No one wanted to be out in the heat, but they were still college students and there was always something happening on campus. From her perch, she saw Matt leaving the library and heading in the general direction of campus security.

She checked her phone for any new messages from Lucy or the others. Lucy had taken their suggestions and called the police. Since Commissioner Gordon was busy, Lucy had talked to Detective Gage instead. (Spoiler knew exactly why the Commissioner was busy at that very moment—he was speaking to Batgirl. But, Steph wasn’t going to let the others know she was privy to that information.) It wasn’t long before Matt reported in. No one had seen Eva at the library since the weekend. As if to confirm Spoiler’s assumptions, he mentioned he was going to check with security. Steph added her own update to the conversation—no signs of Eva around the lecture hall either. 

Where to next? Did she keep searching campus or check some of Eva’s favourite off-campus haunts? Should she wait for the police or head over to the dorm before they arrived? Spoiler sorted through the options, finally deciding to check on their psych professors’ offices. While none of her professors appeared treacherous or duplicitous, she should check for any evidence that they might have plans for their students that went beyond teaching. 

She had always thought that she ought to be able to recognise if any of the Gotham rogues were masquerading as one of her professors. Crane in particular liked to pose as a professor, using his students as guinea pigs for his grisly experiments. He wasn’t the only one. Several of their villains had doctorates—both real and imaginary—and thought they were smarter than anyone else in the city. Now that she thought about it, she wondered how many of their rogues went by doctor or professor? Next time he was in town, she would ask Tim.

With a sigh, Spoiler repelled from the roof. Unfortunately, campus wasn’t the best place to leap across rooftops. The buildings were too low and too far apart. At least she’d made this run often enough (both as a vigilante and a student) to know the quickest way across campus. 

As she turned the corner, Spoiler stopped in her tracks. Well, the answer of what to do next was definitely answered now. To the south the glow of artificial lights created a halo around the far side of the science buildings. There wasn’t supposed to be anyone there at this time of night. The only thing beyond the science building was the...

...greenhouse. 

Not bothering to check in, she changed directions and headed for the science buildings. She didn’t need to be the world’s greatest detective to know that something was very wrong there. 

 

****

 

Unlike the Robins, Batgirl—at least the Barbara Gordon version—had never been all that eager to answer the Batsignal. At least in person. She always wanted to know what was being said. Even before she had been Batgirl the first time around, she’d devised ways of eavesdropping on the rooftop conversations whenever the signal was lit. Tonight, though, she didn’t have much of an option. She was the Bat in charge. 

Having no desire to loom out of the shadows, she landed on the roof of the GCPD with an intentional thump. The Commissioner didn’t start. He turned toward the sound and peered into the shadows. For a moment, she froze in place and allowed the darkness to cloak her identity. She knew it was a futile gesture, but she held onto it for a moment longer before stepping out in the ambient glow cast by the spotlight that had summoned her. “You rang, Commissioner?” 

The moment she spoke, Commissioner Gordon coughed in mid-inhale and quickly stubbed out his cigarette. He shifted uneasily as though he was a small child caught with his hand in the cookie jar. 

He averted his gaze, instead he stared out into the city skyline. “Where’s your boss?”

Batgirl raised an eyebrow. “First, he’s not my boss. Secondly, Batman’s on another case, so he sent me in his stead. Will that be a problem?”

“No. No problem,” he said. If there was any hesitation in his answer, it wasn’t due to a lack of confidence in her abilities, rather, it was more in line with the hesitation associated with accomplishing an unpleasant task. “I know you can do this. It’s your calling and you’re brilliant at it. But, I don’t like being the one to send you out there.”

She had the impression that this was more a dad talking to his daughter than the police commissioner speaking to one of Gotham’s vigilantes. She joined him in his survey of the unsettled city. Standing side by side they could talk without needed to face each other. Or, face the truths they both kept hidden. “How can I help, Commissioner?”

He sighed heavily and his shoulders sagged. “There’s been a series of missing persons.” 

“I take these are different than the usual...” It was Gotham. Sometimes people came to the city to disappear. Other times, they got lost as they sought whatever they thought they needed to fulfill their lives. But more times than either the vigilante or the cop liked to admit, Gotham had a habit of swallowing those lives whole and those people lost more than they had ever intended. Batgirl had lost count of the number of people who simply disappeared from all public record. Sometimes, they would end up in one of the numerous underground communities that tended to collect lost souls. If they weren’t so lucky, the next time any one heard of them, they had ended up in the clutches of one of Gotham’s notorious rogues or—more likely—in the morgue. 

“Maybe. This afternoon, I received calls for five missing women. At least four of those cases appear related. From what we can determine, they all went missing between Sunday evening and Monday evening. They all had reasons not to be missed for a few days. It makes me wonder, how many more could be missing that we don’t know about yet?” He ran a hand over his bare arms, like he was trying to ward away a chill only he could feel in the otherwise sweltering night air. “They’ve cases have to be related, but I haven’t figured out why _she_ chose them...”

Batgirl swallowed back the unease forming in her throat. It was unlikely the Commissioner had heard from Spoiler’s friend yet. He had probably been on the roof when the call came in. All the same, Batgirl couldn’t see any way for this to simply be a coincidence. This put the number of missing women at six. But, what really bothered her was the mention of the unnamed _she_. He didn’t need to spell it out. Batgirl had the same suspicions ever since she found the flower. Still, she needed to know more. “What makes the fifth case different?”

Gordon started to put the remainder of his unlit cigarette to his lips before he thought better of the action and stowed the stub in a pocket. “Lillie Monroe. She was our last call and she doesn’t fit the pattern as neatly as the others. At least yet. Lillie was the only minor among the missing women. And when we checked both her parent’s residences, we didn’t find a flower. We found flowers at each of the other’s homes. Bedrooms to be exact. And, according to their families, the flowers only appeared after the women were reported missing.”

“I think I can help connect the Lillie case. Did the flowers look like this?” Batgirl pulled the evidence bag with the blood red lily from her utility belt and handed it to the commissioner. Any tests she wanted to run on the flower could be accomplished by studying the sticky plant residue left on her soiled gloves. She’d also bagged the gloves before replacing them with a fresh pair. 

“Yes. And no.” He glanced up at the sky in an exasperated gesture. “Where did you find this?”

“I was...signalled...by Michael Monroe. He was worried about his daughter and thought we could help. When I checked her room, I found the lily under a nightstand. I’ve never seen another lily like this one. And what do you mean by yes and no?” She pulled up the search function on her gauntlet computer and began to look for any information about the lily without finding any matches. 

“You’re probably not going to find anything. While there was a different flower at each location, each one was the same crimson. I have someone looking into this, but I’ve been assured that they don’t coincide with any known variety of the plants.” He shook the bag. The crushed lily smeared across the transparent surface leaving a trail that reminded Batgirl of nothing so much as blood. 

“And...,” she prompted.  

“And Ivy hasn’t been seen for a month.” What else was there to say? It didn’t help much knowing that all the signs pointed to Poison Ivy without knowing where she was or why she was kidnapping these women. Batgirl was certain that the Bats weren’t the only one who had been searching in all the familiar places and beyond for the missing villain.  

“We haven’t had any luck so far in our search for her, but that’s not going to stop us.” Batgirl placed a hand on Gordon’s shoulder. She wanted to hug him, to lift the burden from his shoulders. But, whether he knew her identity or not, they still needed to play their roles. “Can you give me a list of the missing women?”

He pulled a folded piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to her. Batgirl scanned the minimal information. 

 

Viola Steller

Lee Turner

Sayge Akeson

Heather Griffin

Lillie Monroe

 

She bit her lip to hold in the gasp of recognition. Like it had for Steph, this case had suddenly intersected with Barbara’s personal life. Babs knew Vi’s dad. He had been her teacher when she’d been a student studying for her undergrad and now that she was a professor in her own right, he was a colleague. Dr. Steller taught in Gotham University’s literature department. He focused on Renaissance literature, while his true passion was more specific—Shakespeare. When his twins were born, it came as no surprise that he had named them Viola and Sebastian. Babs hadn’t known the twins when they were born, but they had been frequent visitors to their father’s classes. Vi’s love of theatre was evident even as the girl when she recited Shakespearean monologues for the class. 

Again, no one who knew her had been surprised when Vi had chosen to train in New York City instead of attending Gotham University like her brother. Last week, when Babs had run into Dr. Steller on campus, he’d informed her that his daughter was coming home for a visit. 

If they included Spoiler’s missing friend, that meant at least three of the women had a Gotham University connection—if ever so vaguely. But, the remaining three had no connection as far as Batgirl could determine without further research. If she could determine why those six were taken—what connected them—then maybe she could figure out the rest of Ivy’s plans. 

She needed someone on the computers. For a brief moment, she debated returning home or to the Cave and doing the research herself, but no. She was lead tonight and it was up to her to delegate the computer work to someone else. She’d be of more use on the streets coordinating the search with the others. The problem was, she needed Spoiler’s and Black Bat’s help to canvas the city. As much as she didn’t want to do it, she needed to call in backup. Apparently no one would get a night off tonight.

“My gut tells me we’re in the endgame,” the Commissioner said, speaking as much to himself as he was to Batgirl. “Ivy’s been missing for too long not to have her plans already in motion. If we can’t catch up with her soon, it may be too late for these women. What worries me is that this is all too showy, too purposeful. It’s like she wants us to know it’s her. She must know that leaving the tokens not only guarantees involvement, but Bat as well.” 

“We’ll find them,” Batgirl said. She prayed that it wasn’t already too late. 

“Good.” He exhaled heavily and placed a hand on her shoulder. “Be careful out there. I don’t know what I’d...I mean, what we all would do if anything happened to you too.” 

“I’ll be careful.” Like in her conversation with Dick, she couldn’t make any promises. And it had occurred to her, like it had her father, that as Barbara Gordon she fitted what little they knew of Ivy’s pattern. She lived alone and there were times when she became so wrapped up in her work that she wouldn’t leave her apartment for days. And, they didn’t know if Ivy was done collecting people or if this was simply round one. 

From the edge of the roof, Batgirl shot her grappling gun towards the next building. When she felt the familiar tug of a secure hold, she turned toward the Commissioner. He flicked off the Batsignal, bathing the roof in darkness.

“I’ll be in touch,” she said as she leapt from the roof and out into the night. 

 

 


End file.
